Feature

Cleaning House

Furniture stocks face further setbacks as consumers retrench

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, and there's nothing quite like furnishing it to the max. Many Americans rediscovered the pleasures of the hearth in the dark days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which in time stoked demand for cozier couches, fancier fridges, multiple computers and giant flat-panel TVs. Thanks to the felicitous

combination of low interest rates and lower taxes, folks flush with cash bought their way to...